This dealer BSing you. He has violated your trust. You should find another place to get your car serviced and buy your tires.
OP back again.
I have pursued this through Honda customer service. A very diligent rep there researched it. He originally thought the “Honda Tire Program” was bogus but he found out that, in fact, some tire manufacturers do modify their tires for Honda. In those cases, they brand the tires with one of their established tire lines but the tire can differ in various respects, including even the tread design.
The dealer misled me, though, because Honda says these tires can be purchased by the consumer directly from Tire Rack or another after-market seller. It is necessary to know the six-digit “part number” (he said it was like xxx-xxx) and request that specifically. I got the impression that the part number is stamped on the tire somewhere. Unfortunately, I suppose one would have to ask the dealer what the part number is for the OEM version of the tire, at which point the dealer would put on the pressure to buy from them.
Things I still don’t know:
Honda customer service was unable to tell me exactly how the OEM tires differ from the same-branded after-market tire. As CapriRacer said, it might be lower rolling resistance and therefore poorer wet traction, or whatever. Without that information, it is impossible to tell whether the OEM tires are “better” than any of the other available tires for my purposes.
Whether all Honda vehicles or just some of them use modified tires.
Why Honda does not mention its tire program and these precious OEM tires in their owner’s manuals nor on any web site indexed by Google.
:sigh:
What the dealer forgot to mention also was that he gets his tires from a local tire wholesaler, not Honda, and they will not assuredly be Honda “special” tires for the Odyssey. They will certainly be the aftermarket version, regardless of what is put on the Odyssey at the factory.
No, I think the Honda rep was right, and they get their tires from Tire Rack. That’s what the dealer said, too. They just use their specific part number.
Now, I suppose the dealer could cheat and use after-market tires, which may have a greater profit margin… how would the customer know?
I would like to add that the Acura NSX is a baby supercar. This car is practically a near-race-ready car, and requires certain super-high performance tires. Even tho lesser tires are maybe compatible, they could cause certain safety issues because of the car’s capabilities.
In contrast, the Odyssey minivan is not close to the same class. There are many other tire makers that can and do meet the tire specifications, and the service guy is feeding you a major line of BS hoping for a sale.
I very seriously doubt that Michelin is making a SPECIAL tire for ONE specific vehicle. It’s way too costly for them.
What’s more probably…The dealer is trying to keep you from going someplace else to buy a tire he sells at 3-4 times the cost.
Mike,
Let me assure you that Michelin does indeed make tires especially for one specific model - per Honda’s specs!
ALL vehicle manufacturers have tire specifications for each and every vehicle they produce. Honda - or Ford, or GM, etc. - will not allow just any old tire to be applied at the assembly plant. The tire has to go through an approval process.
Way too expensive? Not if you consider that every day for 3 years, a truckload of tires goes from the tire manufacturer’s plant to the vehicle assembly plant. A large, steady stream of tires from X location to Y location is very efficient.
BUT, unless the tire manufacturer is supplying the tires to the assembly plant, then it would be true that Michelin (or Bridgestone, or Goodyear) do not make special tires for one specific vehicle.
bscar
You and I are in total agreement about those crappy Bridgestone RE-92s that came on our Subarus. However, I have to tell you that Subaru is not the only manufacturer using this crap tire. I have observed it on new Lexus ES models (the Camry clones) and on a few other makes that I don’t currently recall. I can honestly say that, in terms of winter traction, the RE-92 is the absolute worst tire that I ever experienced. And I wasn’t very impressed with it on dry or wet roads either.
Let me assure you that Michelin does indeed make tires especially for one specific model - per Honda’s specs!
Making a tire that can ONLY run on one specific vehicle is something totally different. All tire manufacturers are given specs from the car manufacturers. But that doesn’t mean they are making a one-off tire for that car manufacturer. Go to a Toyota, Honda, Ford, and GM dealer…Look at the new cars on the lot…You’ll find DIFFERENT tires from different manufacturers on the same car. Been doing that for YEARS. Sure the tires are DESIGNED for that car…but those tires specifications fit other vehicles from other manufacturers.
" MADE FOR " often refers to the OE arragement between manufacturers and can be used by you as a guideline. Which other tires the dealer could sell you has everything to do with their supply sources. You can shop for tires anywhere you feel comfortable doing business. Each tire store will sell only the brands and styles that they have within their source chain, so for different types, change stores. Here at my Ford dealer we source many name brands but to get others would mean dealing with sources who don’t give me a wholesale discount, or who don’t run me an open account, and other reasons I could not price them competitavely. So my first option is to offer you the brands that I normaly sell. It is always you option to shop around.
Bottom line - you risk absolutely nothing by going to a tire dealer or Tire Rack or Discount Tire and getting a same size/capacity/speed rated tire. The tires will be different, and could be better.
Edit - best deal may be at Costco or Sams.
Mike,
Hopefully we are saying the same thing, but are using different ways of saying it.
When I am talking about a vehicle manufacturer’s tire “specs” I mean more than a tire’s size and speed rating. The “specs” that the tire has to meet are things like rolling resistance, traction, treadwear, ride quality, handling, etc.
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Yes, tires made especially for a given vehicle can be fitted to other vehicles.
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Anytime a tire comes on a new car from the assembly plant, the tire has been designed especially for that vehicle, per the vehicle manufacturer’s specs. If there are different tires that come from the assembly plant, each will have been designed especially for that vehicle per the vehicle manufacturers specs. If the tires are otherwise identical (for example: the same size and speed rating, but a different brand), then all the tires will be designed to the same specs.
Hopefully that clears up the confusion.
OP here again:
I just think it’s a scam because the Honda dealer says “We have this tire specifically tailored to your vehicle!” but they won’t tell you how it’s different from any other tire that meets the owner’s manual specs. They won’t say what the rolling resistance or wet or dry traction or any of the other factors are. So they try to create the impression that you’re a fool to buy anything else.
But obviously Honda corporate doesn’t consider it important enough to say anything about it in the owner’s manual or their web site. Honda corporate also won’t say what the difference is when asked.
I remain unconvinced that the OEM tire is significantly safer or more durable or more efficent or less noisy than after-market tires. If Honda can’t explain how the tire is better, then it probably isn’t important.